Piety
by Ziven
Summary: [Post-canon] Ishizu is given her final task, as the Millennium Items are destroyed. But not all are as devoted as her, and it is difficult for some to see a new beginning when they are so close to the end. -Sightshipping, Pegasus x Ishizu- for the YGO fanfiction contest


**Pairing:** Sightshipping (Pegasus x Ishizu)

 **Summary:** [Post-canon] Ishizu is given her final task, as the Millennium Items are destroyed. But not all are as devoted as her, and it is difficult for some to see a new beginning when they are so close to the end.

 **Continuity:** A kind of mixture between the anime and manga, as per usual. I have Croquet instead of "Mister Crocketts" because "Croquet" sounds sexier in my head when Pegasus says it in English, haha. I went with Pegasus J. Crawford for no real reason. I guess it fit the mixture, and some of the other terms from both sources are just kind of thrown together. Aargh, both have things I like in them, and they overlap in weird places so I dunno.

 **Notes:** The YGO fanfiction contest (located in the forums) is still ongoing! If you like this pairing, or want to see more contest entries, please check there!

Other things: I don't know about the balance in this. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh. But at least it's not a kajillion words like the last two entries, hahahahahahahahahaha…

 **Warning:** I don't really think any are necessary for this!

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In her final moments gripped by the Millennium magic, Ishizu remained at ease. That was her duty to the end: to be the calm of the storm, a guiding hand to safety. That end was no exception. There could be no safety in panic, or disorder. What was meant to be could not be swayed by incessant whining or rebellion; the Gods were always one step ahead, always knew what the next move would be, and in that lay their strength. It was the reason why they were all allowed on the hallowed ground, the reason why they were able to bear witness to the Ceremonial Duel.

The door to the after-life bathed all present in its light as the Pharaoh, no – Yami, the Other Yuugi, merely reminded of the name once held in the past – passed through. The man said his goodbyes, promised his eternal friendship to those he held dear, and then he was gone.

Ishizu hadn't expected her last vision. The necklace had been stowed away in the tablet with the others. She somehow thought that, without touching it, such a thing was impossible. But when the door opened, when the man-who-was-once-Pharaoh walked through, she saw it: The spirits of his companions, waiting eagerly for the return of the soul they had sacrificed their very lives for. At first, she felt guilty – this was not knowledge that others were supposed to have. The honor bestowed upon them, permission for their very presence on sacred ground, was nearly overwhelming and it felt wrong. They did not deserve it.

 _She_ did not deserve it, not after what her brother had done.

That too had been forgiven, it seemed. Her eyes alighted on the faces, some familiar, others foreign, one like her own. She felt drawn to her own likeness, and when their eyes met, it happened.

Visions flickered before her eyes and for a few seconds, she was no longer in the room with Yuugi and his friends. When she returned, the door was closed, and the floor was quaking. Their mission was complete. With the Pharaoh returned, there was no further reason to keep the Items where they might be abused by another. The Gods' contract fulfilled, balance finally set.

The ground crumbled beneath them as they fled, the chamber collapsing on it, preventing access to the ancient power. She was sure that had it been a normal, structural collapse, none of them would have made it out alive.

And to be honest, there was a part of her that prepared to meet her makers and see the Pharaoh once more. She was not truly of this time, not for things to happen this way. None of them were. Veterans of battle were always tainted by experiences most would never see or (in this case) conceive. But she knew that there was more to do – her vision, the last shared connection between her and her predecessor – told her so.

It was with a lighter heart that she sent off Yuugi and his friends. They persevered against all odds, strengthened their bonds and each of them were changed mostly for the better. Though the departure was bittersweet for Yuugi, she knew that he had grown the most of them all. They would see each other again, and it would be pleasant.

Once they were off, she gathered a few things for travel: water, food to last her a few hours, a knife for safety; she wouldn't need it. However, neither Marik nor Rishid would allow her to leave without it.

Several hours ago this had been sacred ground, a full temple to the Gods and their judgment. Now what lay behind her as she sat was nothing but rubble, a formation made of large, collapsed stones filling in a sinkhole.

There was no suspense. With no Millennium Items involved, no spirits of the past, there was no power stopping her prophecy from passing. The plane, high in the sky, was easy to spot, especially after the sandstorm had calmed. Ishizu simply waited patiently as it landed quite a ways away, two figures clad in dark clothes climbing out. They were specs on the horizon. She consumed her snack, while she waited, and rehydrated herself.

But nothing could have prepared her for the stricken look on Pegasus's face as he approached the demolished shrine. He must have seen the debris as he approached. They'd met only once before, when this man sought to recreate the God Cards. He had never looked like this. Even his companion wore a deeper frown than usual, and it echoed Mister Crawford's sorrow.

When he was close enough to see her, all he could do, initially, was sob. He turned his gaze up to her, and seemed unable to express his emotion fully – his mouth moved but nothing came out. Eventually, he reached for her, boots caked in sand, arm outstretched towards the ruins.

This man was the final person touched deeply by the magic of the Items. He was the only person, however, who was not deeply entrenched enough to be allowed to view the Final Duel. Ishizu was aware of Shaadi's handiwork, of the desire to push the Pharaoh and Yuugi towards their goal. His methods were questionable, however, she could not argue with their results. She could not argue with anything, really, for she had seen it as necessary, through the Tauk.

Most other affects caused by the Items had been reversed, but matters of the heart could not be. So she sat quietly as Pegasus wept not for a person, but an opportunity. The only magic that could reunite him with his beloved was gone. She understood, though she did not speak. If the Items could have helped those outside of the Pharaoh's journey, she would have gladly reached for that power. Perhaps her parents would still be alive, Marik's mind fully intact and Rishid would not have suffered so.

But it was not her power to wield. Gods did not see such frivolous things as worthy of their time. She knew this from the emphasis in her visions. Personal strife was but nothing in the face of divine balance, and the forces that would upset that balance.

"It's gone?" were his first words. He didn't need the Tauk to know the answer.

"It's gone," she confirmed.

Hands ran up into his hair, and it lifted; the scar that remained over his left eye was revealed. It had healed a bit cleaner than she'd expected, but that did not make it easier to look at. His companion stood close by, poised as he watched. The scene reminded her of Marik and Rishid.

Since he was speaking, now, she thought the time to mourn had been long enough. "Come," she said. "It is done."

Pegasus seemed to realize how foolish it was to continue on this way. With help from his companion, he rose, wiped his face and tried to compose himself. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"I will explain to you what happened, in the end." He was one of the few who deserved to know. If Kaiba, who even in the throes of magic would not submit had been allowed, then she would not keep the information from this man.

He was cursed by the eye – all of the wielders were. They believed in the magic more thoroughly than the others, and yet, asked for the impossible: That which could not be delivered.

They traveled in silence the entire way to Pegasus's quarters. He roomed in the nearest large city, of course, at once of the tourist destinations. When they were situated, she told him the entire tale, the way the vision had shown her she would. Not only what had happened in the Millennium World, but what had happened before, as well. The vision gave her knowledge beyond her own. Things that Ishizu had never seen – she knew, and for a moment longer she felt herself small in the wake of the Will of the Gods. Her final task was to be a mouthpiece, to become the storyteller her brother had only fulfilled in part.

The man did not need to know everything, of course – what was of the utmost importance to him was Zorc Necrophades, and it taking up residence in the Ring. He was the force that – according to Yuugi – had stolen the Eye from Pegasus. The path of that evil and how it wound its way to the End Game, that was what he needed to know most. More of the vision had been of Bakura than of anything else.

Ishizu would give the man credit. He sat patiently and listened, did not interrupt her with questions or interjections. Mister Crawford waited until the full tale was complete, and that was a new experience for her. He provided her with food and drink, though she refused the first and accepted the other, as she had seen. She didn't partake until the end, of course.

To be honest, the man did not seem to have much to say, when she finished speaking. Ishizu was just as grateful to have a beverage as distraction.

"Thank you," was the second thing that he said to her that day. And in his tones once more were the depths of despair.

She felt obligated to take things a step further. "I apologize for my associate, Shaadi. He—"

Pegasus shook his head, but even she could see the beginning of rage building under his expression, and fell silent. Even if she had completed her apology, it was now clear that it would not be considered. Mister Crawford was not the sort of person to easily accept defeat, like Kaiba. That much she had learned the first time they met.

"You cannot possibly know what you are apologizing for," he said. "You do not know what was taken from me."

And it was in that moment that she realized – he had not even accepted the death of his beloved, all those years ago. The flash in his eyes was nearly manic, and it nearly panicked her. Ishizu had seen that look before, the intent.

Creating the God Cards was not easy. No normal man could complete the task.

Dark hands darted across the table, not caring for the moment about impoliteness. This was one thing she could not stand idly by and watch. The time that they were living now, seconds ticking by, was not subject to the Gods or their games. Right now, she could change what she wanted. She had the power to do it, and there was no one to trust in beside herself.

"Please," she said. "It does not only take a Millennium Item to bring out the Other You, nor a Shadow Game for you to lose your spirit. Do not make the same mistake my brother made!"

Mister Crawford seemed startled by her forwardness. He leaned away at first, as his companion took steps forward.

Ishizu would not allow this to happen, this time. "You will not reach your goal, and you will regret disappointing your loved ones in the end! I do not know what you have lost, but I know that those the Items revealed their power to are great, indeed. Do not squander that potential." To be touched by the work of a God was an honor. Lesser men could not handle their intensity, perished in the wake of it.

She was physically pushed back into her seat, and she did not resist. Instead, she stood. The man with Pegasus poised himself for further action, but when she pulled on her tunic and turned towards the door, he relaxed.

"Wait."

If he was willing to continue listening, like he had before, she would continue to speak.

But he had something to tell her, instead. "I have nothing to live for," Pegasus said quietly.

The man clad in black piped up, for the first time. His voice was grating and rough, as though he'd been born in sand. "Sir—"

"Silence, Croquet."

"Yes, sir." There was no hesitation in the response.

And Pegasus resumed as though nothing had happened. "Besides these cards. I had a chance to see her again, but I—" he stuttered, struggling to continue.

"She is gone now," Ishizu said. "Like the magic. You must accept this."

On the table, Mister Crawford's fists clenched, and he seemed unable to gather his thoughts.

"I suggest you live to honor them," she added. "It is all we can do." All that they lost was the Will of Those Who Came Before. It was necessary for the story to unfold just as it had. Their souls were being taken care of. Her parents, this woman whose memory spurned Crawford to his actions, the Thief even… they were all pieces moved into place. This was meant to be. She could not account for the games Gods, but, if it was necessary for their world to continue she would always serve and that would always be her choice.

He seemed to consider her words, and, after a few seconds of silence, finally said, "…I will continue making cards."

"Good," she told him, though there was not much else to say.

He took a deep breath, drew himself up and for a moment became the man he used to be. Hands straightened a red lapel, his stature shifted from what she saw at the desert to bone straight; this man was a businessman once more, heart hardened to anything aside from his own desires. "I will need to see you, in the future." There was not a trace of melancholy in his voice. "These 'ka' and 'ba' – there are some that you described that I have not seen before. I will need to paint them."

It was convincing, and Ishizu knew better than to strip him of this new mask. _Be a reason,_ he was saying to her. Sometimes lies were what sustained men until they could become truth.

"Yes," she answered. "You may rely on the services of the family Ishtar."

This was not a task bequeathed to her. She had always been the bridge between worlds, between the present and the past; to her tribe, her brother, the Pharaoh, Seto Kaiba. Perhaps this was not the same, but if it would save a life did it not hold as much prestige? They were free now, because of the sacrifices made, to have their desires. The hand of fate was now loosening its grip and finally passing over them. She felt its release.

Ishizu wondered to herself, as she exited Pegasus's presence, if Isis had known what her choice would be. Did it matter? The Pharaoh had said it best, that he respected the power of kindness; that Yuugi had taught it to him. Now she could harness that power for herself.

{FIN}

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Thanks for reading~!


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